French Defense: Advance Variation (2… d5 3. e5)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5
The French Defense: Advance Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C02, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5. It is a line of the French Defense. Black is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 88,882 times by this move order. White won 47%, 4% were drawn and Black won 49%. The most popular continuation is 3… c5 (86% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.25 (Stockfish, depth 61; best line 3… c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. a3)
- ECO
- C02
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/ppp2ppp/4p3/3pP3/3P4/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKBNR b KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 27,467 | |
| 1500-1999 | 47,749 | |
| 2000+ | 13,666 | |
| All | 88,882 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… c5 Advance Variation (3. e5 c5) | 76,563 (86%) | |
| 3… Nc6 | 3,158 (4%) | |
| 3… Bd7 Advance Variation, Extended Bishop Swap | 1,691 (2%) | |
| 3… f6 | 1,639 (2%) | |
| 3… Ne7 | 1,602 (2%) | |
| 3… a6 | 1,335 (2%) | |
| 3… c6 | 472 (1%) | |
| 3… Bb4+ | 434 (0%) |
Master games
726 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 49%, draw 15%, Black 36%). The strongest:
- LCZero 0.30-dag-a9b25c2b-BT2-3 (3598) – Stockfish dev-20230409-b36d39d (3639) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 24 Superfinal 2023 · 2023-04-18
- Stockfish dev-20230409-b36d39d (3639) – LCZero 0.30-dag-a9b25c2b-BT2-3 (3598) 1-0 · TCEC 24 Superfinal 2023 · 2023-04-18
- Stockfish 20210113 (3601) – LCZero 0.27.0d-Tilps-dje-magic_JH.94-100 (3586) 1-0 · TCEC 20 Superfinal 2020 · 2021-01-27
- LCZero 0.27.0d-Tilps-dje-magic_JH.94-100 (3586) – Stockfish 20210113 (3601) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Superfinal 2020 · 2021-01-27
- LCZero0.31-dag-5350a2e-BT4-6147500 (3628) – Ethereal14.35 (3523) 1-0 · TCEC 26 Premier 2024 · 2024-05-05
Search all games of the French Defense: Advance Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- El_Banditoff (2740) – GM cutemouse83 (2926) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- FM The_Fawkes (2686) – GM cutemouse83 (2913) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Epichess95 (2818) – McMasterKid (2768) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
French Defense (2. d4 d5) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5
Continuations
- French Defense: Advance Variation (3. e5 c5) C02 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5
- French Defense: Advance Variation, Extended Bishop Swap C02 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bd7
More French Defense lines (all)
- French Defense (1. e4 e6) C00
- French Defense: Alapin Gambit C00
- French Defense: Baeuerle Gambit C00
- French Defense: Banzai-Leong Gambit C00
- French Defense: Banzai-Leong Gambit, Pinova Gambit C00
- French Defense: Bird Invitation C00
- French Defense: Carlson Gambit C00
- French Defense: Chigorin Variation C00
- French Defense: Diemer-Duhm Gambit C00
- French Defense: Diemer-Duhm Gambit Accepted C00
- French Defense: Franco-Hiva Gambit C00
- French Defense: Franco-Hiva Gambit Accepted C00
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.